F.O.'s and A Different Delivery

We had a delivery by an unusual means this week.  A friend of ours knew we needed some bags of soil picked up from a supplier in Calgary.  He happened to be there, and made the pickup for us, but we were amused by the means of delivery: he drives a tour bus, and was in Calgary for the day with time to spare, so he went to the supplier with this huge highway bus.  The guys on the loading dock were quite amused.  When he got home he picked up his wife and son, and they helped us unload.  I took the picture on my camcorder with the "night shot" on, since it was almost ten o'clock by the time they got here. 

 There was plenty of light to see by yet, as our days are really lengthening.  When I got up this morning at 5:20, the sky was bright with sunrise colors, although the sun was not up yet.  Likewise, in the evening the sky stays bright long after sunset.  By the summer solstice we will have sunrise shortly after 5 a.m. and sunset shortly before 10 p.m.  I just love those beautiful summer evenings.  And the early mornings are a great time to be in the garden.  But we do pay for it in December, when we get the opposite: very short days, and very long nights. Great time of the year for knitting, quilting and reading.

This is a pattern from Bella Nonna Design Studio in Kennewick, WA (www.bellanonaquilt.com).  The petals on the topiary came in a kit, but you had to buy the fabric separately.  Linda B. had bought the pattern and petals, but figured she'd never get around to doing it, so I bought it from her.  It was a pretty simple project.  The petals are just glued on (though you can see a few fell off the bottom bloom).  I thought it was kind of cute, and when I brought it in to show at the LQS, Linda P. convinced me to leave it there (along with two other projects) for them to display for a while.  It's hanging from the ceiling there, with the original shown below and another original that I haven't posted.

Here's a little placemat that I finished this week, made from a pattern I found on the net at www.  geocities.com/pcpiecers.  The neat thing about this paper pieced pattern is that you can cut all 1-1/4" strips ahead of time, and there's no wasted fabric.  On the site, the pattern is even more striking, because there are one more horizontal row, and one less vertical row, and the borders are half green and half white, which make the inner part blend into the border.  Check it out, it's a great site.

About two weeks ago I finally got around to making a new cover for my EuroPro Pressing System.  I bought this in 1996 for around $600, and have been VERY happy with it.  There's nothing like it for creating a flat intersection, or a sharp crease in trousers.  It has a reservoir to hold water for continuous steaming, and a vacuum that pulls the steam immediately through the fabric.  Red Deer Sewing Centre told me that new covers are impossible to get, so I made one, and am very pleased.  I also picked the  lint out of the exhaust screen from the vacuum fan, and that upped the vacuum power by quite a bit.  It's like new again!

  

About three years ago I wanted to use some colors I don't ordinarily choose, so I bought these fabrics.  I wanted to use a striped fabric at an angle, and worked on creating a new block that would feature this.  After about four different 

versions  I arrived at one I liked that was simple enough

(only three pieces to a quarter block).  I made up this wall hanging (or lap quilt) and was quite pleased with the result.  Then our quilting group made a trip to Red Deer for the big spring Quilt Show, and what did I see there?  A quilt with this identical block.  Guess I wasn't so original after all! My creation is now hanging in the local quilting shop.